‘We will not tolerate interventions’ in the GSI, Greece tells Turkey

Greece has sent a clear message to Ankara that it will not tolerate interventions in its electricity interconnection with Cyprus. On Friday, Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis said from Kurdistan that the Great Sea Interconnector was proceeding and that the Greek side had already given permission for explorations and the submerging of the cable. In an interview, in the framework of the Slemani Strategic Forum in Sulaymaniyah, Gerapetritis referred to past Turkish interventions and highlighted the European nature of the GSI. “We have made it clear that this project is of European importance and we will not tolerate any intervention in this specific issue,” he stressed. Gerapetritis explained that the project would connect Greece with Cyprus, and in the next stage with the Middle East, adding that its implementation would contribute towards restricting electricity overdependence. The project’s importance, he added, extended beyond Greece and Cyprus to Europe, Africa and the Middle East. He pointed out that the Mediterranean already had a large number of energy interconnections and that, despite the claims made by various states, there was no reason for confrontation in such projects. More later…